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New offshore port for a sustainable
New offshore port for a sustainable future
The new industrial estate offers great possibilities for meeting the needs of energy transition and advancing important regional and national climate change goals.
The dredge sludge depot at the former Averijhaven will soon be developed into a dedicated offshore port.
THE DREDGE SLUDGE DEPOT AT THE FORMER AVERIJHAVEN NEAR IJMUIDEN IN THE NETHERLANDS WILL SOON BE DEVELOPED INTO A DEDICATED OFFSHORE port, named Energiehaven (Energy Port). A partnership covenant for the new facility was signed in April by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Province of North Holland, the Municipality of Velsen, Tata Steel, IJmuiden Seaport, and Port of Amsterdam.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF PORT OF AMSTERDAM. A ccording to the Port of Amsterdam, the development of the Energiehaven is crucial for realising windfarms in the North Sea, as many windfarms will be constructed in the coming years in the North Sea and the offshore port will form an essential operational base for their construction and operational maintenance. The new Energiehaven will, for example, provide support for building the windfarms Hollandse Kust West and IJmuiden Ver off the Dutch coast. It will also play an important role in realising the more intensive use of space and reinforcement of the regional port infrastructure as planned. Location The Energiehaven is located on the seaside of the North Sea Canal, right outside the IJmuiden lock complex. The new industrial estate offers great possibilities for meeting the needs of energy transition and advancing important regional and national climate change goals. By making available an industrial estate of 5ha, Tata Steel has shown its support for this future-looking initiative. The steel manufacturer also allows land access to the Energiehaven via its site. This will enable the movement of personnel and access for emergency services. The Energiehaven will have an area of over 15ha. Both the existing acreage of the Averijhaven as well as the adjacent Tata
The Energiehaven will be located on the seaside of the North Sea Canal, right outside the IJmuiden lock complex.
Steel site of 5ha will be used to create a public port area for offshore wind. A quay will be constructed of 580m – 200m as heavy-duty facility with 12.5m water depth, and 380m standard facility with 10m water depth. The location of the offshore port means that it will play an important role in the efficient and cost-saving installation and operational maintenance of windfarms.
Next steps Right now, the Energiehaven is a Dutch government-owned dredge sludge depot. In order to transform this depot into a port area, the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management will have to clear it out first. In tandem with this necessary work, a study of the effects of constructing the Energiehaven on the environment will be carried out by means of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A fundamental requirement is that the facility must fit within existing environmental guidelines. Commercial operation of the Energiehaven will be run by Port of Amsterdam and IJmuiden Seaport on behalf of the other covenant partners. This commercial operation is in line with the strategic goals envisioned by both port authorities in terms of playing an active role in the national energy transition. Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen comments on the project, “The large-scale construction and operational maintenance of sustainable wind turbine farms in the North Sea demand a much greater port capacity. Our collaborative development of the Averijhaven into a modern energy port means that offshore businesses will have all the space they need in the future.”
i. portofamsterdam.com
Research determined that 2.5 persons per MW per project are needed.
Photo courtesy of Gemini Wind Park.
77,000 trained on-site workers needed by 2024
POWERING THE FUTURE, PUBLICATION BY GWEC AND GOW.
THE GLOBAL WIND ENERGY COUNCIL (GWEC) AND GLOBAL WIND ORGANISATION (GWO) HAVE PUBLISHED A NEW REPORT THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR more than 77,000 trained on-site workers to deliver forecast installations in six key emerging markets for offshore wind between 2020-2024.
The first report of its kind, Powering the
Market
North America China (mainland) Taiwan Japan Vietnam South Korea
Total
Future: Global Offshore Wind Workforce Outlook 2020-2024, provides a qualitative analysis of the workforce training needs required to fulfil offshore market forecasts in North America, China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea. Research determined that 2.5 persons per MW per project are needed to deliver the 31GW forecast for these six markets. The research was built upon GWO training data and GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts, combined with data from Renewables Consulting Group’s GRIP database and a series of industry interviews.
Bottlenecks The Powering the Future report also underscores key workforce supply chain bottlenecks that must be addressed in order to realise these large-scale training needs. Barriers include a lack of training centres, lack of familiarity with standards, and risk of standards being perceived as ‘imposed’ and unreflective of local context. Additionally, the current COVID-19 crisis will pose a new challenge to both workforce and turbine supply chains to reach the world’s offshore wind ambitions. Ben Backwell, CEO of
Forecast installations (in MW) for key markets to 2024 and associated workforce requirements.
Forecast installations (MW)
GWEC, says, “The offshore wind industry is
Image courtesy of GWEC/GWO.
5,720 19,000 3,579 860 1,100 560
30,819 Calculated workforce requirement
14,300 47,500 8,948 2,150 2,750 1,400
77,048
growing exponentially and there is no doubt that it will become a major driver of the energy transition across the world, with GWEC Market Intelligence forecasting 51GW of new offshore installations globally by 2024. The appetite for offshore wind is strong with investors and policymakers alike as more and more ambitious targets are put in place, but we need a trained workforce ready to realise these goals. “The findings in this report are an important tool to match global market trends with local training needs and build a coherent roadmap for thriving offshore wind industries in emerging markets. These markets are moving faster than we have ever seen before, and it is crucial that workforce training keeps up to build a good reputation for the sector and ensure growth opportunities for years to come.”
Top priority in nascent markets Jakob Lau Holst, CEO of GWO, adds, “Having a GWO trained workforce is often the missing piece of the puzzle when considering a new offshore wind project in any given market, but this should be seen as a top priority in nascent markets to secure their long-term growth and create thousands of local jobs. “The offshore wind industry needs to be a leader in health and safety to attract the best talent and ensure the sustainability of the workforce, having standardised training is the most effective way to accomplish this. GWO already has training centres in China, the US and Taiwan, but we will need to ramp up training centres in these regions drastically to train the necessary workforce of almost 78,000 people. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, GWO is also rolling out digital training platforms to ensure continuity in training and continue driving forward the global energy transition.”
